


Quicker

by Schist



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Bromance, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-29
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-09 14:58:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3253979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schist/pseuds/Schist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James and Niki meet during their F3 days and slowly start to become friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was intended as part of a longer fic, but I'm afraid this is as far as I got.

“James.”

I stopped on my way to my car, irritated that someone would interrupt me. After the crash I’d had I just wanted to go home and sulk, preferably with a glass of something really strong. Or many. I turned around and saw Niki catching up with me.

“Oh, it’s you” I said.

Seeing him didn’t make me any less grumpy. He had won the race.

“Are you leaving?” he asked.

He was from Austria, and his German accent was so thick it was a little hard to hear what he said. I was getting used to it though. After half a season of fighting each other on the track, or rather exchanging silly banter off the track, I had started to get to know him a little. Or as well as anyone could; he was seriously weird.

“Yes. Home to drown my sorrows” I said.

He smiled a little. He had an overbite like you wouldn’t believe, which was endlessly entertaining to tease him about.

“Do you mind if…” he said. “Um… could I…”

His eyes darted back and forth, and my irritation was replaced by curiosity. Something was clearly on his mind, I had never seen him this insecure before. He was a couple of years my junior, small and skinny, but usually behaved as if he owned the world. He looked at me, seemed to make up his mind as to what to say.

“I don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight” he said. “Could I crash at your place?”

I felt a confusing mix of sympathy and reluctance. I didn’t want this guy in my flat, but I’ve always had a heart too big for my own good.

“For how long?” I asked.

“Oh, just for a few nights. I can’t afford to stay at a hotel, and I don’t really know anyone here…”

No wonder he didn’t know anyone, he was a major asshole. I’d lost count of the number of times I’d heard him be rude to people for no apparent reason. He had a habit of speaking his mind without the slightest concern for people’s feelings, which could be hilarious and oddly refreshing, but also quite unpleasant.

“If you don’t want to, I’ll find something else” he said and there was a hint of steeliness in his face. God forbid anyone would think Niki Lauda needed help. I wondered what he would do if I said no.

“It’s fine” I said. “Come on. You got your things?”

“I’ll get them” he said, and I caught the relieved look on his face before he could hide it. Poor sod.

“I’ll go wait in the car” I said and went ahead to the parking lot.

I got in my car, and after only a minute or so he came walking up to me with his bag over his shoulder. I felt a wave of discomfort. Why had I said yes? Niki seemed to be one of those people who have something missing in the social parts of their brain. Like they’re from another planet and don’t understand how normal people function. This was going to be seriously awkward.

We drove in silence for a while. I could see it made him uncomfortable, but I refused to strike up a conversation. I wanted to see what he would do.

“Did you get hurt in the crash?” he asked finally and took a package of cigarettes out of his pocket.

“No” I said.

He offered the package to me. I nodded.

“Light it for me” I said, and he did. He handed it to me and lit his own. “Everything hurts, of course, and will hurt even more tomorrow, but nothing’s broken.”

He nodded.

“Why don’t you call your parents and get some money?” I asked. “That’s what I always do.”

“We’re not really on speaking terms” he said.

“Why not?”

“They don’t like my career choice.”

“Mine don’t like it either, but they still talk to me.”

He glanced at me and smiled just a little.

“Good for you” he said.

“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. You can sleep on the sofa, I don’t have a guest room.”

“That’s fine. Thank you.”

 

We arrived at the flat and went inside. Niki looked around with a mix of awkwardness and curiosity.

“Are you hungry?” I asked and went into the kitchen.

“No, I ate at the track.”

“Me too. Tea?”

“Sure.”

He put his bag down and followed me into the kitchen. He looked down his nose at the pile of dirty dishes covering most of it, but didn’t say anything. I did notice however that he was very careful not to touch anything.

“Rule number one” I said and put the kettle on. “You have a problem with the mess here you clean it yourself. No complaining.”

“I’m not complaining” he said.

“Your face is.”

He grinned.

“It is disgusting” he said. “Are the cups clean?”

He nodded towards the cups I was taking out of the cupboard. I made a show of examining them and shrugged.

“More or less” I said and got the satisfaction of seeing him try to decide whether I was joking or not.

I changed my mind. Having him here might be fun.

We had tea and watched TV. Nik didn’t say much, but I didn’t mind. I was tired after the race, and still a bit pissed off that I had crashed.

“What do you want to do?” I asked after the TV program was over.

He shrugged.

“I might go for a run” he said.

“Do you want company?”

He looked at me and looked like the answer might be no. I waited patiently for him to make up his mind, wondering if he would be polite enough to pretend he wanted me along.

“Not really” he said.

I laughed.

“I’m too tired anyway” I said. “Don’t get lost.”

He grinned and got up from the couch.

 

I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up when the phone rang. I felt disoriented, and when I looked at my watch several hours had passed. Apart from the ringing phone the flat was quiet. Had Niki gotten himself lost after all? But when I staggered off the couch to answer the phone I saw him sitting by the kitchen table reading something, ignoring the phone as if he didn’t hear it.

“James” I answered and took the phone back to the sofa. It had a long cord for that particular purpose.

“Hey James! Heard about your crash. Bad luck.”

It was John, one of my best friends.

“Yeah, that sucked” I said. “What’s going on?”

“Want to come out tonight?”

“Of course!” I said, and then I heard Niki turn a page in his (my) magazine. “I’ve got a friend over” I said. “He’s staying the night. I’ll check if he wants to come.”

“If he’s good-looking he can’t come” John said.

“Don’t worry, he’s about 5 feet tall and looks like a rat. And he barely speaks English.”

“Girls like foreign guys.”

“Not this one. We’ll get all the girls to ourselves.”

I glanced over at Niki, who gave me the finger without even looking up from the magazine. I laughed.

“Can you call Donna and get her to bring that friend with the red hair?” John asked.

“No problem. See you at the pub.”

“Yeah.”

We hung up and I went into the kitchen.

“Thanks, but no” Niki said.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “There will be girls. You could lose your virginity.”

He grinned.

“You’re so kind” he said. “But parties are boring.”

I shrugged, surprised to feel myself a little disappointed.

“There will be _many_ girls” I tried.

“I have a girlfriend.”

“Suit yourself.”

 

I had a fantastic night, and Donna’s red-haired friend Helen went home with me instead of with John. That was a good thing. So did Donna, and her other friend Karen, which was even better. We stumbled into my flat and it wasn’t until I turned on the light and saw someone lying on the sofa that I remembered Niki. I had given him bed linens before I went out, and he had made up the sofa and gone to bed.

“Who’s this?” Karen asked and tip-toed over to him.

“That’s just this guy I race with. He’s crashing at my place tonight.”

“Aww he’s sleeping” she said. “He’s so cute!”

“No, he’s not” I said.

Donna and Helen joined her.

“He is!” Donna said. “Why didn’t he come out with us?”

“He didn’t want to. He’s massively boring.”

All three of them stood by the sofa looking at Niki and giggling. It looked hilarious, and I laughed and joined them.

“Niki, wake up!” I said and lightly punched his shoulder. “We’ve got company.”

He opened his eyes and looked at us first in sleepy surprise and then horror. He sat up quickly, and the look on his face made me double over with laughter. He looked at me and seemed to remember where he was, because he relaxed and made an annoyed face. Then he saw the girls and smiled.

“Hi” he said.

Karen sat down next to him and smoothed his hair down. He was naked at least down to his waist, where the blanket covered him, but he looked entirely comfortable. I wondered how much his girlfriend mattered now.

“Nice to meet you” she said. “I’m Karen.”

“Niki” he said.

The look on her face told me I’d lost at least her company for the night. She kept chatting with him, while I made drinks for Donna and Helen, trying to keep them for myself. If he stole my girls I would throw him out on the spot. I wouldn’t even let him get dressed first.

 

The next morning I woke up hung over but happy. What a night! Helen and Donna were still in my bed, their warm soft bodies pressed against mine. I could smell their hair and skin, their lingering perfume. Helen was awake and smiled at me when she saw I was too.

“Morning” she purred.

“Morning.”

I kissed her. She tasted like sex and sunshine, unlike my own morning breath.

“I’m just going to get a glass of water” I said reluctantly and edged out from under Donna’s arm that was slung across my chest. “Do you want anything?”

“You” Helen said and smiled. “But water would be nice.”

“You’ll have both in just a moment.”

On my way to the kitchen I saw Niki and Karen sleeping together on the sofa. It looked like they’d had a good time too; the sheets were half way down on the floor, and they both rocked a serious case of bed hair – his brown curls and her long black hair showing exactly how much they had rubbed against the sofa. It was disgusting and kind of endearing at the same time.

Niki opened his eyes when I walked back with the water. He gave me a sleepy smile, and I smiled back before going back to the bedroom and closing the door.

 

 

It was strange to see Niki at the race track again. We’d had a surprisingly good time while he was staying at my flat, and even started to feel a bit like friends, but now he was back in his overalls and his face was serious and focused. He was standing by his car eating an apple when I walked past him.

“Can you even bite with your teeth so misaligned?” I asked.

“Fuck you” he said, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was clearly thinking of something else.

I didn’t care. I was nervous.

Race day. I loved it, and hated it at the same time. There was nothing better than racing, it was even better than sex. I loved the excitement and danger of it, the skill and luck needed to get through the race alive. There was nothing like the feeling of trying a risky maneuver and pulling it off, flying past the other car. But the danger and excitement took its toll, and before the race I was always terrified. I couldn’t believe that I was actually willing to step into that rolling coffin, and at the same time there was nothing I wanted more.

I got off to a good start, ahead of Niki, but spun off after only ten laps. Niki raised his hand and waved at me when he passed. I gave him the finger, threw my helmet on the ground and walked back to the paddock.

“Bad luck, superstar” Alexander said and put his hand on my shoulder. “Did you crash the car?”

“No, it’s fine. I just spun off.”

“Great!” he said cheerfully.

I looked at him.

“I’m glad someone’s happy” I snapped.

“Oh, go get your dick wet” he said and messed up my hair. “Better luck next time. Where’s your helmet?”

I hung around until the end of the race. Niki came in third and looked very pleased with himself as he took his helmet and balaclava off. He grinned at me. I shrugged.

“Bad luck” I said.

“That’s just another word for incompetence” he said.

“Fuck off.”

He smiled and turned away, said something to his team manager before heading off towards the podium. I glared after him. I wanted to smash his ridiculous teeth in with his own trophy. The bastard. And to think I’d started to think of him as a friend. I hated his guts.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey asshole” I said when I saw Niki walk past me before the next Formula 3 race in England.

We had met at a couple of races during the summer, but I had been busy partying with Hesketh and friends and he usually headed home right after the race, travelling in his scruffy car with either some other Austrian driver or his girlfriend (who, it turned out, he hadn’t made up at all. She was very real, smoking hot and didn’t seem to mind being dragged around Europe with him).

He looked up, and then looked at me from head to toe and back again.

“What are you _wearing_?” he asked.

“What, this?” I said and looked down at my print shirt hanging open and my mini shorts. “What’s wrong with it?”

“You’re practically naked”

“It’s a hot day.”

“Not that hot. And why do you never wear shoes?” he asked.

“I don’t like shoes” I said and wiggled my toes at him.

He shook his head. I could have told him he dressed like my dad, but I couldn’t be bothered. I was actually happy to see him.

“How are you?” I asked.

“A bit fed up with all the travelling” he said. “I’ve been racing touring cars and Porches as well as Formula 3. I’m never home.”

“Yeah, I know. But it’s fun, isn’t it?”

He grinned.

“I guess so” he said. “How’s it going for you?”

“You know” I said and shrugged. “You win some, lose some, spin out and almost die in some.”

He laughed.

“Me too” he said.

“Are you heading home after the race, or are you staying the night?” I asked.

“Heading home, I guess…”

“You could stay with me again, if you want. It wasn’t completely unbearable last time.”

He smiled.

“Sure, if you don’t mind.”

“No problem. See you after the race.”

“Okay.”

 

We both went to get ready for the race. I started feeling nervous for real as I got into my overalls, and after that it just got worse. When it was time to get into the car I was so nervous I felt nauseous, and finally had to duck behind a dumpster and throw up. I wiped my mouth with my hand. I didn’t want to race with this horrible taste in my mouth, and looked around for something to drink. At that moment, as if sent by fate, a guy walked past me with a bottle of beer.

“Hey, mate, you don’t mind if I have a sip of that, do you?” I asked him and pointed at the bottle.

He looked at me in surprise, took in the overalls, the helmet in my hand, and then handed me the bottle. I took a deep swig and then handed it back to him. Much better.

“Thanks, mate. Awfully nice of you.”

He stared after me as I went to my car, got in and strapped myself into it. I pulled my helmet on and buckled it. I was on pole, with Niki just behind me. I turned and waved at him. He gave me the finger. Then the flag waved, and off we went.

Nothing could compare with the chaos of twenty-five Formula 3 cars all driving flat out down a track not nearly wide enough. Cars went off the track left and right, and I probably would have been one of them if I hadn’t been in the front. I saw Niki trying to edge past me after only one lap, and blocked him. He fell behind, waited in my slipstream, but I couldn’t worry about him since I had several other guys trying to squeeze past me in every corner. In the third corner of the tenth lap someone hit me, and I spun out. The car flipped over, rolled a few times and then came to a stop upside down. I sat there, my neck painfully bent with my head pressed against the ground, waiting to see if the car was going to catch fire and wondered what the hell I was doing here. Sure, it was fun, but was it worth dying for? I really needed to move up to Formula 2; Formula 3 was just too crazy.

Finally the rescue services bothered to turn my car over and let me out. I walked over to the pits rubbing my sore neck.

“Hey superstar” Alexander said. “I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again.”

“We need to go to Formula 2” I said. “This is stupid.”

“If you actually finish a race now and then, and maybe even win some, we might have a chance” he said. “You know what winning means, don’t you. It means crossing the finishing line _before_ all the others.”

He smiled, obviously very pleased with himself. I pushed back my irritation. He had a point, and besides it was his money.  

I changed out of my overalls and went over to where Niki was loading his race car on his truck.

“I have people who do that for me” I said.

“Good for you” he said without looking at me.

“Need a hand?”

“No.”

I sat down and watched him work. It was quite enjoyable.

“No girlfriend this time?” I asked.

“No. She had other things to do.”

“She’s cute.”

“I know” he said and smiled.

“She must be really dumb for putting up with someone like you.”

He looked at me in surprise, and then laughed.

“Your sense of humor just gets more lame every time I meet you” he said. “By the way, did you get hurt when you rolled over?”

“Not really. A bit sore. But I have to say it was quite frightening. The rescue services wouldn’t come near me at first. Do you know why? Because they wanted to wait and make sure the car wouldn’t catch fire!”

“I know. It’s stupid.”

 

When he was finished we went back to my flat and were just debating whether to have pizza or fish and chips for dinner when the phone rang.

“I’ll borrow the shower” Niki said while I picked up the receiver.

He disappeared into the bathroom.

“James” I said.

“James, I’m just calling to check if you’ll be coming alone tonight, or are you bringing a…um… lady friend?”

My mother.

“Tonight?” I said.

“James, surely you haven’t forgotten…”

“Of course not” I said and tried to remember what it was that I had obviously forgotten.

Then it struck me. Sunday dinner. Fuck.

“Um…” I said. “I might bring a friend. Not a lady, just a friend. I’m not sure yet, I’ll ask him.”

“I’ll have the table set for one more” mother said. “See you soon!”

We said goodbye and hung up. I stood by the phone for a while, wondering what to do. Then I went to the fridge and got two bottles of beer. I opened one and drank some of it while I waited for Niki to come back from the bathroom.

He did after only a little while, dressed in the same clothes as before, so the only proof he’d actually been in the shower was his wet hair. It was a lot more curly when it was wet.

“Have you made up your mind up about dinner?” he asked as I handed him his beer.

”Well, this is a bit awkward” I said.

“What is?”

“It turns out I’ve kind of promised my parents I’d come over to their house for dinner tonight” I said.

His face fell.

“Can you cancel it?” he asked.

I shrugged.

“I’d rather not” I said. “I don’t see them very often as it is, it would break my mother’s heart.”

He looked unhappy.

“I could stay here” he said.

“Or you could come with me.”

“Meet your parents?”

He looked at me as if I’d just asked him to sacrifice his life rather than a few hours of his evening.

“We’ll make it quick” I promised. “Just eat dinner, chat for a bit and then we’ll be off. I’ll take you out somewhere, get you drunk. I’ll make it up to you.”

He smiled reluctantly.

“I’ll hold you to that” he said.

“I’m sure you will.”

 

I have to confess to being a bit nervous bringing Niki to see my parents. He wasn’t the most diplomatic of people on the best of days, and my parents could be… well… the kind of people who appreciate diplomacy.

“Listen, Niki” I said when we were getting near the house. “My parents… well, appearance and social status is important to them. And even though we don’t always get along, I sort of care about them. So if you…”

He looked intently at me.

“…If you could try and not be an asshole, I’d appreciate it” I said.

He looked shocked.

“I didn’t mean it like that” I said. “Just… be nice.”

He burst out laughing.

“You’re worried I’m going to be rude to your parents?” he asked.

“Well… you’re rude to everyone.”

He shrugged, and laughed again.

“I guess that’s true” he said. “Okay, I promise I won’t be rude to your parents.”

“Thanks.”

He didn’t say a word when we pulled up to my parents’ house, but looked around curiously. We walked up to the front door and knocked. The butler opened and let us in, and then my parents came to meet us.

“Hi mum. Dad” I said and gave them each a hug. “This is Niki Lauda, he’s from Austria. We race together.”

“How nice. Welcome” mum said and extended her hand to Niki.

I was shocked when he took it, and instead of shaking it bent over and kissed it with unbelievable grace. My mother made a little sound of delight, and my father looked impressed.

“Nice to meet you” he said and shook hands with my father with a straight back and a formal smile.

His German accent suddenly made him sound exotic rather than funny.

“Nice to meet you too” Dad said. “Why don’t we go to the dining room?”

They led the way, and we followed. I met Niki’s eyes, and gave him an astonished look. He shrugged and smiled.

When we sat down to eat I couldn’t believe he was the same guy who used to sit next to me on a car chassi or a pile of tyres, dressed in overalls and wolfing down his lunch from a paper plate. His back was straight, his table manners perfect, and he even made polite conversation with my parents.

“Where in Austria are you from?” mum asked.

“Vienna. But I live in Salzburg now.”

The word Salzburg sounded very German when he said it, and I could see in my mother’s face how exciting she thought he was. It made me look at him in a new light. I hadn’t even known he was from Vienna, or where he lived. The whole German-speaking world was a white area on the map for me.

When it was finally time to leave, mum took me to the side.

“What a nice young man” she said. “So well behaved. I can’t believe he’s a friend of yours.”

I looked at Niki chatting with my father. Someone must have said something funny, because they both started laughing.

“Me neither” I said. “Well, thanks for dinner, I’ll see you soon!”

I kissed her cheek and took Niki with me out the door.     

“Well, that exceeded all expectation” I said as the door closed behind us and we got into the car.

“What did?” he asked.

“You. Mr well-behaved. You charmed my mum’s socks off. Where did that come from?

He grinned.

“I was raised rather classy” he said. “It’s still in there somewhere.”

“Obviously. Right, let’s go and get pissed.”

“Finally.”


End file.
